Hemp smiled, despite everything. He wished he didn’t know what was happening now and then.
Nelson was
well
behind the other vehicles, and pulled into the lot
as Hemp let the dogs back inside
. As he was
climbing
out of the street sweeper, Hemp
approached him.
“Hey, Hemp.”
“Thank you, Nelson. You saved us. Of that I’m
dead
certain.”
“I was playing with the radio, and I heard the crap going on,” he said. “Good you guys were only a few blocks away.”
“How did you think of the street sweeper?”
“Vikki. Or
Victoria
. Not sure. Which one has the
reddish
hair?”
“Vikki.”
“Yeah. Her. She said it was full of anti-zombie juice or something like that. You guys use them mostly to kill the rats.”
“Yes, the kind with a z on the end.”
“R-A-T-Z?”
“Yes. Zombie rats.”
Nelson shook his head. “Well, I was glad to help. We all gotta pitch in.”
“Great first pitch, Nelson. Glad to have you in
Concord
.”
Nelson flipped his long, blonde
dreadlocks
onto his back and smiled. “See you inside.”
Hemp walked to the truck and leaned over the bed rail to take a few strands of Corn Silk’s hair. He pulled the head toward him, picked it up and worked it inside the bag. Once
secured
, he tied the handles together and carried it
into the bar
where the rest of his friends waited.
The room smelled of food, and Hemp’s stomach began to rumble the moment it hit him. The sisters had become the chow line organizers, and regularly created some pretty good meals with canned and vacuum packed meats and vegetables. Today smelled amazingly like beef stew.
Hemp’s eyes moved toward the small kitchen, and he saw Kimberly, her blonde hair tied up on her head, and an apron covering her front. She had wire-rimmed glasses on, and when she turned to smile at him, they had steamed up from the hot pot of soup in front of her.
“There’s plenty, Hemp! I think it might be one of our best yet.”
Hemp smiled back at her, t
rying to remain casual, as if the bag
he held
co
ntained only a cantaloupe. H
e
searched the rest of the room for
Flex, Gem and Charlie. They were together in the
southeast
corner. Trina had taken
the last
cot, and
Taylor
had fallen asleep in a banana lounge chair.
Hemp envied them.
“Guys, can we talk?”
“Where the hell are Dave, Lisa and Serena?” asked Charlie. “I thought they’d be here.”
“Jesus,” said Hemp. “Are they still out there somewhere?”
“I’ve been on the radio. No answer,” said Gem.
“We have to go after them,” said Charlie. “Now. Where were they going?
”
“It’s on the board,” said Nelson.
They walked to the white board where the assignments and maps were posted.
Charlie pointed to the map. “So here? Costco was their first stop?”
“Yeah,” said Flex. “Judging from what we saw out there, it would have been a perfect haven for rotters. Big.”
“We have to go now,” said Charlie, moving to the door.
“Stop right the fuck there,” said Hemp.
She did. Charlie turned, her mouth open in amazement. “Babe, did you just say
fuck
?”
Hemp ignored her sarcasm, which he knew was her way of avoiding the subject.
“You’re not going anywhere, Charlie. You have to start considering that you’re preparing to bring a new life into the world.”
The door behind them opened, and Dave and Serena came in. Charlie
quickly rose up on her tiptoes and kissed Hemp quickly on the cheek.
“
You win
,
boss
,
”
she said
, and winked
.
She
turned and ran to
Dave
, hugging him tight.
Hemp followed behind
, shaking his head and smiling despite himself
.
She released him and threw her arms around Serena. After clinging to her for at least as long as she had embraced Dave, she stepped back.
“It’s good to see you,” said Hemp. “Things have really taken a turn for the
worse
out there.”
“Are you guys okay?
” asked Charlie, still clearly brimming with excitement and relief.
“
You look okay. Where’s Lisa?”
Dave
glanced briefly at Serena, whose eyes fell to the floor.
He looked again at
Charlie, and his lip began to quiver; his eyes becoming moist.
As though his legs were made of jelly, Dave Gammon collapsed onto his knees and fell to the floor, crying.
Serena fell beside him
and put her arm over his shoulder as his body became racked with sobs.
It was
very
clear that Lisa was not okay.
Everyone in the room gave the two time. While Hemp did not know what they had just been through, he could imagine.
Doc Scofield helped Dave up and Gem took Trina from the cot. Dave lay there with a thin blanket over him, shivering as though he were lying in the snow, naked.
Hemp followed when Scofield went into the supply room.
“Doctor Scofield,” he said.
“I think you can call me Jim,” Scofield said.
Hemp nodded. “I know. Jim, I need to get into the new lab. I know you’ve been working on things there, and I’m sure you’ve got it in good shape.”
“It is,” he said. “
You saw it when it was close to complete, but I’ve got a couple of new pieces of equipment in there now.”
“I should’ve been in here weeks ago, and j
udging from these new developments, I’m late.”
Scofield shook his head. “Nobody could’ve predicted this,” he said. “Hell, we thought we were good to go here in
Concord
.”
“
You d
idn’t count on so many visitors
,” said Hemp. He lowered his voice as Kimberly walked nearby.
“These creatures are different, Jim. Not only has the vapor changed, but the intelligence, communication. In particular, the pregnant females.”
“Pregnant?” asked Jim, incredulous.
“Not now, but when they became … what they are. I suspect it’s something to do with the
ir
estrogen level
s
at the time.”
Jim’s brows came together and he scratched his beard. “How so? I know a little about estrogen.”
“I expect you would,” said Hemp. “It’s the only thing I can come up with that makes them different. I haven’t seen it in the very young girls or the post-menopausal-aged women. Just those of birthing years. Particularly the pregnant females.”
Scofield shook his head. “Lab’s ready. Know what tests you’re going to want to do?”
“I’ve got a head,” said Hemp. “From one that was leading a group. Controlling them, I believe.”
“You don’t say,” said Scofield. “Do you know what happened to Lisa yet?”
It was Hemp’s turn to shake his head. “No. But she was exposed to the new vapor, and it affected her.
It’s part of the reason I need to
speak to Dave
as soon as possible.”
“He’s in no shape right now. Maybe talk to the Spanish girl?”
“Serena,” said Hemp.
Scofield shrugged. “I’m too damned old to remember all these names. But it rings a bell. Anyway, talk to her.”
Hemp looked over. Flex and Gem sat beside one another in mismatched plastic chairs from the bar, and Trina lay draped over Flex. He looked exhausted.
Serena sat on the edge of the cot, stroking Dave’s back. Charlie stood beside them, and when she looked at Hemp, he waved her over.
Charlie touched Serena gently on the shoulder and walked quickly to where the doctor and he waited.
“Hi,” she said, slipping her arm around his waist.
“Hey, Charlie. I need you to see if Serena can speak with us. I don’t want to interrupt, but you seem to have an in.”
She smiled, and her exhaustion showed. With a sigh, she said, “She loves Dave, and since he helped me get you back from Carville, I pretty much love him, too. Yeah. I’ll go relieve her.”
Charlie returned to the cot, leaned over and whispered into Serena’s ear. Serena leaned down and kissed Dave’s cheek and stood. She hugged Charlie, and walked over to Scofield and Hemp.
“Hi, Hemp. Hi, Doc.”
“Serena, are you really okay?”
“I am. Dave got us out of a mess. We were very much trapped.”
“Let’s go into the storeroom,” said Scofield. “There are some chairs in there, too.”
They walked in, closed the door behind them
and sat.
“
Serena,” said Hemp. “I know it’s very fresh in your mind, but it’s important that I know what happened to Lisa.”
“Because she was exposed, right? To the vapor?”
“Yes, precisely.”
Serena lost control of her facial muscles, and she couldn’t speak for a few moments. She swiped at the flowing tears, and Scofield pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to her.
Serena dabbed at her eyes while the men waited.
“Thank you,” she said in a tiny voice unlike the woman Hemp had come to know
.
“
Lisa opened the door of the car, but it was more than that.”
“What?” Hemp leaned forward.
“She said something,” said Serena. “Before she opened the door, she said
open the door
.”
“She actually said those words? Open the door?”
Serena nodded. “Yes. Very softly, but I heard it.”
Hemp looked at Scofield. “That’s what happened in the lab. She said
c
omfort
Ann
before she bent over and embraced the infected on my table.”
“Is that the one whose head you have in a jar?”
“It’s more of a dome, but yes
. That one.” He turned to Serena again. “And what happened?”
Serena looked at Hemp. “What the hell do you think happened? They poured into the car and they killed her!”
“I’m sorry, Serena,” said Hemp, taking her hands in his. “I’m asking dumb questions, I know, but you must understand, I wasn’t there, and any small thing might tell me something, even if it doesn’t necessarily tell you anything.”
Serena nodded. “I know that, and I’m sorry, Hemp.”
“Nothing to be sorry for, Serena. My reason for asking was that I had believed, when this occurred in the mobile lab, that there may exist a kinship
– a connection
of sorts
–
between the infecteds and the uninfecteds who had been exposed to their new vapor.
Particularly those of child-bearing years, or pregnant women. It’s why I want to keep Gem and Charlie away from them.
”
Se
rena shook her head. “No, there was no kinship or special treatment that I could see.
They came in and piled on top of her and just … they started devou
ring her. It was so … horrible.”
Her
tears
came
again
at recalling what Hemp knew
must have been
a devastating experience.
He
got out of his chair and knelt beside Serena, putting his arms around her.
“I think I know enough, Serena,”
whispered
Hemp. “I’m so sorry to have put you though that. Thank you.”
So what Hemp had learned was that despite the ability to partially control the women who had been exposed to the red vapor, they did not afford any special treatment to these subjects. They devoured them just the same. What troubled him was the fact that Lisa had been on WAT-6, therefore should not have been attractive to the creatures.
But she clearly had been. Or was she? Had they just killed her, or did they consume her? He would have to insist they returned to retrieve her body, or what was left of it.
“I have one more question,” asked Doc Scofield, his tone hesitant. “Is that okay?”
Serena nodded as Hemp pulled away, patting her hand as he sat again
in his chair
.